No extra funding to help repair Sheffield's crumbling roads

South Yorkshire will receive more than £1.4 million of extra funding to help repair pothole-ridden streets following the recent wintry weather but Sheffield won't get a penny due to its ongoing highway maintenance deal with contractor Amey.

The Department for Transport announced a further £100 million to help repair roads across the country after recent snowfall and ice led to more damage.

Chris Grayling.

But a DfT spokeswoman said Sheffield Council had not been allocated any funding because of the cash it receives from the Government as part of its £2.2 billion 25-year private finance initiative deal with Amey.

The contractor is currently in the process of resurfacing the city's roads as part of the contract, and will then maintain them for the duration of the deal.

Of the £1.4 million, Rotherham will receive £410,000, Doncaster will receive £542,000 and Barnsley will get £412,000 to help repair roads.

Announcing the funding, transport secretary Chris Grayling said: “People rely on good roads to get to work and to see friends or family.

“We have seen an unusually prolonged spell of freezing weather which has caused damage to our local roads.

“We are giving councils even more funding to help repair their roads all road users can enjoy their journeys without having to dodge potholes."

The news comes after The Star launched a Pothole Watch campaign, encouraging readers to report pothole to both the council and us, in an attempt to get Sheffield's roads up to scratch.

Eight years worth of figures showed that the number of roads in Sheffield deemed to be in poor condition had dropped from 35 per cent in 2013/14 – a year after Amey took over the maintenance of the city’s highways to just 13 per cent in 2016/17.

But the figures also showed the national average for each local authority to be nine per cent – four per cent lower than the amount needing attention in Sheffield.

To report a pothole complete a report on the council’s website at www.sheffield.gov.uk/streetsahead or call them on 0114 2734567 and we will keep a close eye on whether the reported potholes have been repaired.

Send your reports to news@thestar.co.uk and include a few details of where it is as well as a contact telephone number.